Free Atlantic City Casino Dealer Training for Local Residents
Atlantic County residents who want to become casino table game dealers can now get free training through a county-supported initiative.
The initiative was announced on Monday by the Atlantic County Workforce Development Board, which said that county residents are eligible for free table game dealer training. The training will take place at the Atlantic County One-Stop Career Center in Pleasantville, New Jersey.
This is a great chance for people to learn new skills, get proper training, and possibly find a job in just six weeks. And it's completely free, said Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson. "These new dealers could be working on casino floors before Memorial Day weekend," he added.
The county's Workforce Development Board will cover the cost of the casino dealer school tuition and the $100 casino employee licensing fee charged by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. The Board explained that the funding comes from the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA).
The WIOA is designed to help train workers for jobs in sectors where there's demand and match them with employers who need their skills. It was passed by Congress and signed into law in 2014 by President Obama.
Labor Market Struggles
Hiring in Atlantic City is still a major challenge, despite most of the COVID-19 pandemic being behind us. There are nine casinos in the city, and they collectively employed 22,624 workers at the end of January. That's 838 more positions than in January 2022, but it's still thousands of jobs less than the industry's pre-pandemic workforce.
MGM Resorts' Borgata is the largest casino employer in Atlantic City, with 4,552 employees. Hard Rock comes in second with 3,415 workers.
The unemployment rate in Atlantic City as of January, the most recent data month provided by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, was 5.9%. That's significantly higher than the 3.4% national unemployment rate.
The unemployment rate in Atlantic City rose by 1.4% between December and January, with the Leisure and Hospitality sector making up a significant portion of the increase. The sector reported 34,900 workers in January, down from 35,400 in December.
Dealer School Details
Table game dealer classes will start on April 1 at the Atlantic County One-Stop Career Center. Those interested in attending should register by calling the Workforce Development Board at 609-485-0052 or by visiting the agency in person at 2 S. Main Street in Pleasantville from Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm EST.
Atlantic City casinos say that their dealers can make up to $70,000 a year, but many current dealers complain that their jobs put their personal health at risk because of indoor smoking at the casinos.
CEASE — Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects — is leading a campaign to convince state lawmakers to close the Atlantic City casino smoking loophole. Workers with cancer and other tobacco-related diagnoses who testified before the New Jersey Assembly Health Committee and Assembly Tourism, Gaming, and the Arts Committee last month argued that state lawmakers must require the casinos to go fully smoke-free.
A recent study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that casinos with smoking sections pose health risks throughout the facility, including in supposedly smoke-free areas.
However, the Casino Association of New Jersey, which represents the nine resorts in Trenton, and the leading casino workers' union, Unite Here Local 54, oppose a full smoking ban. They believe that gaming revenue would decline and lead to as many as 2,500 job losses if a smoking ban were enacted.
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